LEXINGTON, Ky. - After running the fastest 800 meter race of her collegiate career, junior Siofra Cleirigh Buttner (Dublin, Ireland) is headed to the NCAA Championships as the top qualifier from the national quarterfinal heats run during the NCAA East Preliminary at the Kentucky Outdoor Track & Field Complex on Friday evening. Cleirigh Buttner crossed the finish line in a blistering 2:02.11 to win her heat and lead the 12 qualifiers from the East region who will compete at the national championships next month.

In the first of three quarterfinal heats, Cleirigh Buttner was third in a leading group of four runners after the first lap. She took the lead with just under 200 meters to go as that front pack pulled away from the rest of the field, and settled into a comfortable pace coming around the final turn once a top-three finish in the heat and an automatic qualifying spot for the NCAA meet was locked up. Cleirigh Buttner won the heat by just over half a second while advancing to the national championships for the second straight year.

The top three finishers in each quarterfinal heat and the next three fastest times advanced to the NCAA Championships, which will take place from June 7-10 at historic Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore.

Cleirigh Buttner's time of 2:02.11 in Friday night's race is the third-fastest in school history to be run during the collegiate regular season. Her previous collegiate best was 2:02.97 ââ'¬" the current indoor school record ââ'¬" at the Columbia East-West Challenge earlier this year. Cleirigh Buttner's lifetime best is 2:01.98 at the British Milers Club Grand Prix in Solihull, England last summer. That time stands as the seventh-fastest ever run by a Villanovan who was still in school at the time of the race.

Still to come for Villanova at the NCAA East Preliminary are the national quarterfinal heats of the 1500 meters. Those races take place on Saturday evening at 6:30 p.m., with sophomore Nicole Hutchinson (West Vancouver, B.C.) and senior Angel Piccirillo (Homer City, Pa.) both running for the Wildcats.

NCAA EAST PRELIMINARY
800 Meters - National Quarterfinal Heats
Top 3 each heat and next 3 fastest times advance to NCAA Championships

Heat 1
2:02.11 - Siofra Cleirigh Buttner, Villanova
2:02.67 - Rachel Weber, Ohio State
2:03.00 - Madeline Kopp, Duke

Heat 2
2:02.53 - Hanna Green, Virginia Tech
2:02.66 - Susan Aneno, Connecticut
2:02.68 - Danae Rivers, Penn State

Heat 3
2:02.34 - Abike Egbeniyi, Middle Tennessee State
2:02.93 - Agnes Abu, Middle Tennessee State
2:04.15 - Courtney Clayton, Vanderbilt

On-Time Qualifiers
2:04.23 - Ruby Stauber, LSU (Heat 1)
2:04.33 - Emma Kennan, Georgetown (Heat 2)
2:04.52 - Alethia Marrero, Indiana State (Heat 3)